A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation News & Publications Interim Director Doug Beeman.
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San Luis Obispo County is fighting a judge’s order to release
more water from Lopez Lake, citing concerns that the plan would
jeopardize the county’s drinking water supply. In December,
U.S. District Court Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett ordered the
county to release more water from Lopez Dam to support
steelhead trout migration through Arroyo Grande Creek.
This plan must ensure that there is enough water in the creek
to support steelhead trout traveling from the ocean to spawning
habitat in the Arroyo Grande Creek Watershed, the judge said.
The trout are designated as a threatened species by the
Endangered Species Act.
The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) announces the
closure of boat launches at its reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada
foothills until further notice to prevent the
introduction of the highly invasive golden mussel into
the public water system. The mussel has not been detected at
EBMUD reservoirs, and this proactive measure is intended to
protect the public water supply, infrastructure, recreation and
natural resources. … The mussels, which can colonize over
large areas in a matter of months, have already been discovered
in the California Delta, prompting state and local water
agencies to strengthen safeguards against their further spread.
Numerous lakes within the state have also closed or restricted
boat launches.
(Adel) Hagekhalil had pushed the CFO to assume a complex water
deal would soon infuse it with cash and allow it to pass along
lower water rate increases to its agencies – agencies including
the San Diego County Water Authority. San Diego representatives
had insisted on this and Hagekhalil was listening. Water rates
are soaring with no end in sight and this decision kept them
from soaring even more. This week, the board of the
MWD decided to push him out officially after months
of suspension. … Word is that the LA-San Diego-Imperial
Valley water transfer deal may still go through, it just could
take a while.
The California agency in charge of the state’s Coachella Canal
failed to convince an appellate court to fully reverse a ruling
that awarded non-agricultural customers at least $17 million
for water-import charges that violated California’s
constitution. The constitution requires taxes imposed by local
government bodies such as the Coachella Valley Water District
to get local approval. The water district failed to convince
the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District that the
charges it imposed were exempt from that rule because there was
a rational basis to tax urban customers for the cost of
importing more water.
Like many other freshwater wildlife species, amphibians have
faced steep declines throughout California. Climate-fueled
disasters are only increasing the stress on these creatures. As
we saw after the recent Palisades fire, species rescue is
becoming increasingly necessary. Fortunately, a team of
agencies and a local university were able to rescue hundreds of
endangered Tidewater Goby from a Malibu lagoon to protect them
from toxic debris flows generated from the fire. Emergency
actions like this are truly important—but they should be an
action of last resort. One of the best ways to improve a
species’ chance of survival is, quite simply, to make sure that
they don’t become too isolated.
A conversation with Nichole Morgan (civil engineer, California
State Water Resources Control Board) about implementing
programs and policies to steward water resources and
infrastructure. Nichole Morgan was appointed as the civil
engineer to the State Water Resources Control Board by Governor
Gavin Newsom in June 2021. Ms. Morgan most recently served as
an Assistant Deputy Director in the State Water Resources
Control Board’s Division of Financial Assistance, where she
worked on projects providing funding for drinking water,
wastewater, storm water and groundwater infrastructure
improvements.
As downpours soak Northern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has
ordered state officials to capture and store more stormwater in
San Joaquin Valley reservoirs for farmers and towns, and to
“remove or minimize” any obstacles that stand in the way.
If that sounds familiar, it is: The governor issued similar
orders two years ago, when he waived environmental laws to
store more water as storms drenched the state and caused
disastrous flooding. Months later, the Legislature and Newsom
enacted a new law that smooths the way for such actions.
After an extremely dry January, California’s snowpack in the
Sierra Nevada now measures just 65% of the average for this
time of year, but state water officials said two winter storms
are expected to bring more snow and rain that will add to the
state’s water supplies. State officials announced the
below-average snowpack measurements as they carried out their
monthly snow survey at Phillips Station near South Lake Tahoe.
Fresh snow was falling as they drove a metal tube into the snow
to measure its water content, adding to data collected across
the Sierra range.
President Donald Trump declared victory on Friday in his
long-running water war with California, boasting he sent
billions of gallons south — but local officials say they
narrowly prevented him from possibly flooding farms. “Today,
1.6 billion gallons and, in 3 days, it will be 5.2 billion
gallons. Everybody should be happy about this long fought
Victory! I only wish they listened to me six years ago — There
would have been no fire!” he said in a post on his social media
site. Local officials had to talk the Army Corps of Engineers
down after it abruptly alerted them Thursday afternoon it was
about to increase flows from two reservoirs to maximum capacity
— a move the agency said was in response to Trump directing the
federal government to “maximize” water supplies.
After years of studying and experimenting with pilot programs,
the future of Colorado River management will almost certainly
include a permanent water conservation program for the Upper
Basin states. Upper Basin officials have submitted
refinements to their March 2024 plan for how water should be
released from Lake Powell and Lake Mead as well as how
shortages should be shared after the current guidelines expire
in 2026. In it, they offer up the potential for up to 200,000
acre-feet per year of water conservation.
A California state appeals court upheld a $17 million decision
Friday awarding refunds to customers of the Coachella Valley
Water District after a panel of judges ruled the government
utility agency unconstitutionally charged non-agricultural
customers more than agricultural ones. In its 55-page ruling, a
panel of judges of California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal
affirmed a lower court decision in favor of the Howard Jarvis
Taxpayers Association, the nonprofit that brought the case. The
court said that the difference in water rates violated state
law because the rates are property taxes under the California
constitution — taxes that were not approved by voters.
Just over 270 Southern California steelhead trout were rescued
last week from their last refuge in the Santa Monica Mountains.
The rescue came about a week after hundreds of another type of
endangered fish were liberated from the same watershed. The
watershed, a biodiversity hot spot located in Malibu, was badly
burned and may take a decade to fully recover.
The legal action comes amid worldwide attention on PFAS, used
widely to create products resistant to water, stains, and heat,
including food packaging, non-stick pans, clothing, rain
jackets, furniture, carpeting, plastic turf, paints,
electronics products and a host of other goods.
On Friday, (Monterey County’s health office) released
preliminary data for testing of soil and water, which is
separate from the testing done by San Jose State. … Water
testing was done using samples from tanks for the local
drinking water system. The results from a state-certified lab
found that the levels of nickel, manganese, aluminum and copper
“do not exceed the associated regulatory maximum contaminant
level” and “are consistent with the historical data for each
system,” the county said.
On January 31, 2025, PG&E released its Final Draft
Application for Surrender of License for the Potter Valley
Project (PVP), a hydroelectric facility that has historically
diverted water from the Eel River to the Russian River
watershed. The 2,086-page document outlines PG&E’s plans
for decommissioning the century-old project and details the
expected effects on Russian River water users, including
agricultural, municipal, and recreational interests in
Mendocino, Sonoma, and northern Marin counties. This summary
highlights key takeaways relevant to the Russian River
community.
The Rural Groundwater Management Act of 2025 would allow rural
Arizonans to create water management programs that would have
decision-making authority over conservation programs. Those
programs are meant to reduce groundwater use and improve
aquifer conditions, according to a fact sheet provided by the
Governor’s Office. Senate Bill 1425 also would create
five-person councils in each water management
program. … The act also provides funding for water
conservation, with dedicated money to support voluntary water
conservation, aquifer recharge and water reuse programs in
rural areas.
As aquifers continue to decline in the southern San Joaquin
Valley, farmers and town residents alike are struggling to come
up with groundwater sustainability plans that the Department of
Water Resources (DWR) will certify. Otherwise, the state will
take over—a fate that nobody wants. Tulare County is a case in
point. The plan that the Kaweah Sub-Basin Groundwater
Sustainability Agency came up with in 2022 failed to protect
domestic wells and disadvantaged communities. Some 40% of
domestic wells, more than 1,500 of them, could dry up under the
plan. Fifty-three public supply wells would also go dry, and
drinking water contamination could worsen.
(Barry McCovey Jr., fisheries department director for the Yurok
tribe:) There can’t be Yurok people without the Klamath River.
It’s woven into the fabric of our being. … The Klamath River
was the main food source for the Yurok tribe in historic times,
kind of pre-contact. So basically any time of year there would
be a fresh run of fish coming into the river, whether it’s
lamprey or smelt or salmon. There’s always some fresh source of
protein coming into the river.
Many stories about President Carter will circulate in the
coming weeks, but I wanted to briefly share his connection to
flood management. One April 1, 1979, President Carter signed EO
12127, which established the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA). Carter recognized that the frequency of
natural disasters was increasing and felt passionately that the
role of government was to help those in need. … Before
establishing FEMA, President Carter signed EO 11988 – the
Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). The Federal
Register categorized EO 11988 as “Environmental Protection,”
but the preamble of the groundbreaking order made it clear that
Carter understood the order really was about future flood risk.
In anticipation of a multi-day, significant atmospheric river
in Northern California, Governor Gavin Newsom today issued an
executive order that would make it easier to divert and
store excess water from incoming winter storms. The
Governor signed the order after he received a briefing on the
latest forecast for the storm. The executive order also directs
the Department of Water Resources and other state agencies to
take action to maximize diversion of those excess flows to
boost the state’s water storage in Northern California,
including storage in San Luis Reservoir south of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. These actions will help
California replenish above-ground and groundwater storage that
remains depleted in many parts of the state following
multi-year droughts.